JONESBORO, Ark. (1/7/13) – The recent success achieved by the Arkansas State University men's basketball team hasn't went unnoticed as College Sports Madness has selected junior guard Ed Townsel as its Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for this week (Jan. 7).

Townsel played a key role this last week in leading ASU to conference home victories over Middle Tennessee (1/3) and Western Kentucky (1/5) as the Red Wolves are midst a four-game winning streak. The A-State backcourt player averaged 17.0 points per game (34 total) in ASU's last two contests to go along with 6.5 rebounds a contest (13 total) in a combined 68 minutes of action. Townsel connected on 40.6% (13-32) from the floor, including 38.9% (7-18) in three-point field goals, and shot 50.0% (1-2) at the free-throw line.

Townsel started out the week's action with nine points and eight rebounds in ASU's 66-60 overtime decision over Middle Tennessee last Thursday (1/3) before following up with a game-high 25 points in a 75-61 win against Western Kentucky this past Saturday (1/5). In the victory over WKU, Townsel connected on 52.6% (10-19) of his shots which featured 5-of-10 in treys for a 50.0% success rate. He also contributed five rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 36 minutes of playing time.

For this season, Townsel leads the Red Wolves in scoring with a 16.3 points a contest average (244 total) in 15 appearances. The 6-0 guard has garnered per game averages of 3.5 rebounds (52 total), 1.3 assists (20 total), and 1.9 steals (28) while shooting 41.1% (85-207) from the floor. Townsel has made good on 39.8% (43-108) in three-pointers and 73.8% (31-42) of his free throws while averaging 32.3 minutes this campaign. He has attained double-figure scoring on 11 occasions this season, which includes four 20-plus point performances. In SBC games only this campaign, Townsel currently ranks seventh in scoring with a 15.3 points per game average (92 total) in six league matchups.

In 81 career games to date, Townsel is averaging 8.7 points (804 total) and 2.9 rebounds (237 total) per contest. He currently ranks 11th among ASU's all-time three-point field goal leaders with 110 career triples and has tallied a 39.0% (110-282) efficiency mark from beyond the arc.

Arkansas State, which is presently 10-5 overall with a first-place 4-2 mark in the SBC's West Division, is back in action this Thursday (Jan. 10) night versus the FIU Panthers in conference competition. Tipoff at the ASU Convocation Center is set for 7:05 p.m. (CT) and tickets are available by contacting the ASU Ticket Office at (870) 972-2781 or 1-888-ASU-FANS.